Hey again! So, I'm still looking out for a beta! If you're interested, message me! Thanks!

Warning- AU, YAOI. Don't like, don't read.

Disclaimer- Don't own Naruto.

Chapter I

The silence of a dim living room was shattered by the opening of the front door. Quickly and abruptly, the light switch was flicked on, and Kakashi strolled into the room. As he walked across the carpeted floor, throwing his keys in a bowl by the door and tunelessly whistling to himself, another man cautiously walked through the doorway, suspiciously taking in the room with sharpened eyes.

On the car ride to the man's house, Sasuke had grown more and more alarmed at his decision. It wasn't Kakashi's appearance, per se- it was only the reality of being in a stranger's car, a stranger who held Sasuke's very life in his hands. He could do anything to Sasuke, and no one would ever know, or care.

I forfeited that right when I left, he thought to himself solemnly, closing his eyes. But there wasn't much I could do… Under the circumstances.

As he got out of the car, Sasuke had entertained the idea of simply making a run for it while the man's back was turned. However, he knew that he would have no where to go. This was an unknown city, and he had no reference of where to go or what to do. Somehow, with Hanae beside him, he had been able to be strong, for her sake. But now the reality swept over him, and he knew the only way he could find some kind of life in this new environment was to take the stranger's- Kakashi's- kindness.

The idea of rewriting a life for himself was extremely daunting. After what he was before… He pushed the idea from his mind. Soon, if all went well, he would have the time to think of such things. Now, however, it was best to focus on the present.

"So." Kakashi turned around to face his visitor, his one revealed eye closed in a gentle, happy visage. "This is my humble abode. Please make yourself comfortable. Would you like some tea?"

"Thank you." Sasuke looked around the small room, still worried for his circumstances. As Kakashi puttered in the kitchen, Sasuke wandered around the room, observing and taking note of everything in it. The apartment looked vaguely small, and he wondered if Kakashi lived with anyone. Probably not; he didn't look like the type, from what he had observed. The living room, in which he was standing, was plain, with beige walls and few articles of furniture. The paintings, although tasteful, revealed little about the man's character. After some moments, Sasuke gingerly sat down on the couch, continuing to worriedly stare at the walls.

"Here we are." Kakashi walked back into the room, carrying two mugs of bitter-smelling tea. He set one in front of Sasuke, before taking his own and leaning back in the winged chair directly across from the teenager. Unsure whether he should drink, the raven-haired man gingerly picked it up in his hands, smelling the wafting aroma.

"Don't worry, I didn't poison it." Surprised, Sasuke turned to Kakashi, to see that he was smiling again. Were his suspicions so obvious?

"And even if I did, what would you be able to do about it?" Still that infuriating smile. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"I need to go." The man certainly had a dangerous air about him. Even if it might not have been directed at him, the guy's words scared him, as much as he hated to admit it. Sasuke stood up, warily glaring at the man who was still comfortably sitting in the chair before him.

"I'm not keeping you here." He waved his hand in an offhanded manner towards the door. "I am, however, telling you that you probably won't find someone else in this place who is willing to help you. It's a harsh city." His eyes sharpened. "You're likely to wander the streets for a week or two before dying. You don't look like the type who knows his way around a place."

Sasuke stiffened, trying to hide the fear that was blooming in his heart. With all of his intelligence, he could definitely say that he did not have what people called 'street smarts'. Living in the wealthy family that he did… that he used to live in. Again, he closed his eyes against the thoughts and, with a slight pause, walked back to the couch.

"Good. So, Sasuke. Care to tell me why you were all alone at a train station?" Sasuke continued to glare at the man's exceedingly annoying smile.

"No."

"Hey now. I just told you, I'm trying to help you. At least tell me something about yourself."

"No."

Kakashi stared intently at the teenager, calmly sipping his tea. After several moments, he suddenly stood up, catching Sasuke off guard.

"Well then, Sasuke, I don't think I can get much out of you tonight. I could just kick you out of my apartment, but like I said, it doesn't really look like you know where you'd go, anyway." He stepped around his chair, turning back to Sasuke. "Well, come on, then. I'll show you your room."

Unable to think of a better solution, Sasuke complied.

The living room branched out into a small hallway, cramped in its size but not overly so. Compared to the places Sasuke was used to, it seemed tiny. But he was an Uchiha- he knew how to adapt. And he would. Somehow.

After passing two closed doors that Kakashi labeled as the coat closet and his private study, he opened the third, revealing a neatly kept bathroom. Everything was a nice, sterile white, except for the pale blue rimming around the mirror, tables, and shower curtain. It had a soft, unused quality to it.

"Here's your bathroom." Sasuke was surprised at the labeling of it as his. "Right through here-" he pointed to a door, which he strode across the room to open- "is your bedroom."

Continuing to cautiously follow the man, Sasuke entered the room, sweeping his gaze around at the setup. Again, the same air of disuse hung like mist on the furniture and décor. It was a simple layout: two dressers, lacking in any personalization of any sort; a neutrally-white bed, with made sheets of the same light blue color as in the bathroom; a bedside table, above which a hanging touch light was perched; and, overlooking the sprawling city beneath, shattering the image of a suburban home, were two windows, each large and boxlike.

At the interior of the room, Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow. "Does someone live here? Or do you just have this set up for if you ever pick up anyone at the train station?" Kakashi laughed, softly. At least, Sasuke thought he laughed. It was hard to see the expression of his face with the masking covering it.

"Yes, I do live alone. I keep this room up for guests, although to rest your worries, I have had no intention of picking up a lost boy at the train station before now." He glanced over at Sasuke's confused face, and smiled. "You looked pretty helpless there. However odd it sounds, I knew that I couldn't just leave you."

Sasuke had prickled at the term helpless, but at the man's following words, he looked up, surprised and puzzled. He… He felt sorry for me? Was that why he brought me here? I… He closed off the expressions manifesting across his face, trying not to appear moved. I didn't think there were people who would do that.

When he looked back up to Kakashi, the man was analyzing his features again, and immediately the teenager felt a pale blush sweep across his features. However, the man didn't pry into the subject.

"It's getting late, and it appears you've had a rough day. Do you want to turn in now?" Sasuke looked at the gold watch on his wrist, surprised to see that it was nearing on nine o'clock. How had he lost track of time so fully? Blankly, he nodded.

"Well…" Kakashi looked pointedly at the empty air beside Sasuke. "It doesn't look like you came with anything. I might have something that can fit you. How old are you, anyways?"

Sasuke thought about lying, but decided against it. "Seventeen." Kakashi nodded in response, a hint of a smile lightening his features.

"You know, at first I thought you were older, maybe twenty-one or so. It's that angry expression you have on your face." He laughed at the glare directed at him. "But when I actually looked at you…" His smile slowly seeped out of his features, and Sasuke unexpectedly felt a lump form in the back of his throat. "You look like you're hiding too much."

Sasuke didn't know what to say, but even if he did, he couldn't have spoken the words, since his mouth felt like it had been wiped dry with cotton. He distractedly looked out the windows, where the dark was stopped in its permeation of the city by the blazing lights. The noise of traffic washed uneasily over his nerves, and he had trouble regaining his voice.

"A-anyways. Thank you for your consideration." He hated himself for the slight tremor in his voice. When he chanced a glance in Kakashi's direction, he was confused to see a look of soft concern at his statement. "What?" He said, a little defensively.

"Nothing." The man turned away, walking towards the closed door across from his own "I'll get you those clothes. You can get settled for right now."

As Kakashi left the room, closing the door behind him, Sasuke looked around at the bedroom again. Get settled? How? He had nothing to unpack, as he would have set about doing as soon as he arrived at whichever spot he had been dragged off to this time. He smiled faintly to himself, remembering their last family vacation to Maui. Hanae had gotten a huge sunburn on her nose, and he hadn't heard the last of it until months after. At the memory of his sister, however, he felt a sudden pain in his heart. Hanae… Did he get you? Or did you escape?

Sitting down on the neatly made bed, Sasuke let himself relax from the position he had been holding this entire time. Slowly, slowly, emotions began to seep out through the levy that he had created to prevent such occurrences. He knew that there was still a lot he had to sort out before he could fall completely into a recuperation process. He had the overwhelming urge to sleep and never wake up again. But he had to stay up for a little while, until Kakashi returned with the clothes.

Instead of venturing into the unforgiving contemplations of his future, he wondered about the man's, Kakashi's, motives. He said that he did it because he felt bad for Sasuke, slumped there as he was. The thought of himself, Uchiha Sasuke, lying against a dirty train station pillar made him grit his teeth in distaste. But the situation that he was facing was now completely out of his hands. This pure fact was the most terrifying of all: all of his life, Sasuke had known what lay before him, and if a problem arose, the answer was always efficiently given. Now he was in a world of confusion, without any railings to hold onto.

He was pulled out of his musings by Kakashi's return. He was smiling again, which Sasuke had become wary of. However, the clothes that he handed the teenager were normal and neutral: a navy t-shirt, checkered pajama bottoms, boxers, a toothbrush enclosed in plastic, and a white, fluffy towel.

"I thought you might want to take a shower before you went to sleep." Sasuke looked up to him, giving him a silent look of gratitude. He had thought that sleep was his main priority, but now he couldn't stop thinking about how dirty he felt from travelling.

"So, I'll leave you alone for that. If you need anything, I'm right across the hall." He gave a small wave, smiling again. "Goodnight, Sasuke."

"Goodnight," he murmured, slowly getting to his feet and shuffling to the bathroom door. Falling asleep in the shower was definitely a possibility, if not a particularly pleasant one.


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